A Few Questions...

[Davitron3000]

Hello, I am trying to level Blacksmithing and had a few questions...

I am currently at 67 Blacksmithing and making Darksteel Picks. I mine all my ore
and sell the Picks to an NPC. I mine in Yughott Grotto, so this is pretty slow going.
I have contemplated going to the Highlands and farming Gob and Quadav stuff to
desynth into darksteel ingots. Is this a good idea or should I keep mining? I am
not necessarily in a big rush, but it would be nice to be able to level smithing a
little faster than what I am currently, without just buying ore off the AH.

Also, when I hit 73 and get my apron, I was thinking I might take a break and try
to level some sub crafts. Which crafts would be most beneficial to skilling up
Smithing and to Smithing in general? I have a few levels in Goldsmithing, Leather,
and Woodworking already, so I was thinking one of those would be my best bet.

Thanks in advance for any advice.

[Darlachan]

I'm a 76+1 Blacksmith- and I have not had very good luck with desynthing backplates and Quadav gear yet. In fact, I can probably count on one hand how many times I've been successful.

If you're 67 I would try Karimata Arrowheads (http://ffxi.somepage.com/itemdb/3444). They cost a wind crystal and: Iron Ingot (http://ffxi.somepage.com/itemdb/3094) x1, Tama-Hagane (http://ffxi.somepage.com/itemdb/3101) x1. Get the Iron Ingots from a guild vendor and then portal outpost out to Norg and sit at the vendor on the dock and craft 'em. you'll pay about 7k a synth overhead. Check into what they're selling for before you start though, when I did it they were about 100k a stack to sell.

As far as sub crafts I'd highly recommend Clothcraft to at least 40 or 50. (You'll want to make the Haubergeon) and Leathercraft is also a pretty solid sub. Obviously in the end you want Goldsmithing-Leathercraft-Clothcraft-Boneworking to 60. But in the meantime Clothcraft and Leathercraft should suffice.

Good luck!

[Davitron3000]

Thanks so much for the advice! I think I might try that because I mine a lot and I make a lot of iron ingots to sell while I am digging for Darksteel Ore.

Thanks for the sub craft opinions also.

[Icemage]

As a woodworker, I'll note that if you're making Karimata Arrowheads, it's a really good idea to hunt down someone who is levelling Woodworking anywhere in the 80s range, since the optimal skillup synth in that range is Kabura Arrows, which require the Karimata Arrowheads. You can often sell many stacks of them at a time to a single buyer because of this (and thus clear your inventory nicely without dealing with the AH).


Icemage